Published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc.

FFRF Complaint Halts Prayers in North Kansas City

After receiving an Oct. 19 letter of complaint from the Foundation, the City Council of North Kansas City, Mo., will no longer pray at its meetings, including opening them with the Lord’s Prayer.

A review of council meeting agendas from 2009 showed each called for “Repeating in unison, the Lord’s Prayer.” According to sources, this practice was in place for many years.

According to a Dec. 10 article in Kansas City’s Sun Tribune, the swift decision to halt the prayers resulted from the mayor receiving advice from legal counsel, mirroring that of FFRF’s position, to remove prayer from council meetings completely to avoid any legal challenges.

The last time the council recited the prayer out loud was Oct. 13, the paper said.

Foundation Co-President Dan Barker thanks staff attorney Rebecca Markert for winning a major victory. The change was attended by a lot of local media coverage.